DALLAS -- Maj. Karl Tinson, a 1990 graduate of Westover High School in Albany, was recently installed as commanding officer at Marine Corps Recruiting Station Dallas.

Tinson, who joined the Marine Corps shortly after graduating from Westover, relieved Maj. Jon M. Lauder as commander of the recruiting station following a change-of-command ceremony at the base.

Tinson's father, Robert Tinson of Albany, said his son joined the Corps for the challenge it provided.

"I told him he could go into the service or go to school," Robert Tinson, a former Marine who served during the Vietnam War, said. "He talked to recruiters from all four branches of service and said he was most impressed with the Marines.

"I think he saw the Corps as a challenge that he wanted to take on."

After basic training, Karl Tinson received his first assignment as an intelligence analyst at Cherry Point, N.C. He served from 1991-94 with the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, 2nd Marine Division and the First Marine Aircraft Wing.

In 1994, Tinson was selected for and completed Broadened Opportunity for Officer Selection and Training in Newport, R.I. He was subsequently selected for the Marine Enlisted Commissioning Education Program, which he completed in 1995 at Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego.

Tinson completed Officers' Candidates School in 1996 and in 1998 completed requirements for a bachelor's degree in accounting from Clark Atlanta University. Upon graduation, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant.

In 2000, after completing more training, Tinson reported to the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force in Okinawa, Japan. He served there with the 3rd Marine Division as assistant intelligence operations officer from 2000-03.

From 2003-06, Tinson was assigned to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot at Parris Island, S.C., where he served as commanding officer of Company B, 1st Recruit Training Battalion. During that tour he completed requirements for his master's degree in human resources development at Webster University.

Tinson was assigned to the 2nd Intelligence Battalion at Camp Lejeune, N.C., in 2006, and he served through 2009 as commanding officer of Counterintelligence/Human Intelligence Company. During that assignment, he was deployed three times to Al Anbar Province, Iraq, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

In 2009 Tinson was assigned to the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force as Intelligence Operations Officer. During the assignment he was deployed to Helmand Province, Afghanistan, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Tinson's personal decorations include the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals with gold star, the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal with gold star, the Drill Instructor Ribbon and the Good Conduct Medal with bronze star.

"The best advice I gave Karl was when I told him to treat people the way he wanted to be treated," Robert Tinson, a retired Merck Chemical employee who now "tinkers" as a handyman, said. "His mother (Betty Tinson) and I are very proud of him; we love him more than all the stars in the sky.

"It's certainly impressive that our son went in as an enlisted man and has worked his way up to NCO. You always want your children to do better than you did, and Karl has the smarts for that. He's become a career man, but I think he'll be ready for politics when he gets out. He's certainly a dedicated Marine."